Prestidigitation
by NotHardlyCharlotte
Summary: He'd waited two weeks for the right moment. Had stalked it like a predator, and when it came, defenses lowered, ears un-pricked, he lunged with the upmost grace. MaiXNaru One-shot
1. Sleight of Hand

So apparently I'm on a one-shot kick. Hm.

**Warnings: **Two or three curse words, mentions of adult themes but nothing explicit. More like glancing off the subject.

Spoilers (duh): If you haven't read the manga, you're probably confused.

Disclaimer: bluh bluh don't own bluh bluh

Quick note: This is actually an outtake from a multi-chapter story I'm working on. It does include an OC, named Evie, but all you need to know to understand this fic is that she and Lin are together. I do love LinXMadoka, but for the purpose of that story Madoka is much older, so...

* * *

Lin hadn't stopped laughing.

"Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I don't believe my question demanded such a ridiculous response," Oliver drawled, if only to conceal the aggravation quickly mingling with the nerves already fluttering in his stomach. A palm suddenly hovered in his face, willing him to wait, and he stared at it distastefully, distantly wondering how much effort it would take to snap a finger and whether it would be worth it to face the wrath of a very pregnant Evie in the process. Well, as long as it wasn't his ring finger….

"Forgive me," his generally (generally being the evidently operative word here) composed assistant grated through the vestiges of his chuckling, "But I can't understand. What exactly are you asking of me?"

Oliver visibly bristled. Not only would he have to repeat himself, but he had the distinct feeling Lin was deliberately tweaking his patience. For one so serious, he had the disgusting habit of trying his young charge when he really shouldn't. A habit, Oliver imagined, he picked up from his exceedingly antagonistic wife.

"I wanted to know how you proposed to Evie. Again, not an altogether amusing inquiry."

Lin turned a vaguely bluish color as he held his breath, no doubt to refrain from laughing again. "I gathered that much. I suppose I should ask why? As in, why would you want to know?"

A warranted question. He wasn't exactly known for being the sentimental type, and if he sought anything seemingly emotional, there typically existed an ulterior motive. Sometimes he wished Lin didn't know him so well. Thus he was silent for a moment, contemplating his options before speaking. One, he could tell the truth, but honesty wasn't so much a moral for him as it was an act of necessity at times and a hindrance at others. Two, he could spin (probably too easily) an outwardly simple lie that was wrought with complexities, but frankly he was too tired and too out of sorts to manage that at the moment.

Or he could evade answering. That was always an option.

Lin shot him a pointed look, one that clearly stated, _don't even try it, Davis._

With a sigh of the long weary, he admitted, "I'm going to ask Mai to marry me."

The pointed look was still there. Damn him. "And I'm not really sure how to go about it."

Now he was smirking. Bastard. "I was hoping you would…._assist me._"

For a second he expected more laughter, actually contemplated leaving before the necessary diaphragm convulsions could begin, but Lin only smiled softly and rested a long-fingered hand on his shoulder. Like the second brother he'd rather be without.

"I'm glad you came to me. Unfortunately," he began with no small amount of smugness, "I won't be of much help. I didn't ask Evie."

Oliver raised an eyebrow elegantly, his more cultured equivalent to a 'what the fuck.' Lin chuckled again, and Noll was quickly deciding he'd never heard the man laugh so much in his life. It was nice to know, in his time of need, his closest friend was absolutely useless.

"Evie asked me."

"What?" He asked the question more as an insult to Lin's competence than as an actual demand for explanation.

"Well, she didn't really ask me, so much as she arranged the wedding and told me to show up, but as far as any formal proposal, I'm as inexperienced as you," he reiterated wistfully, unable to resist the jab at the end. Naru didn't seem to notice it.

"I'm glad to hear this was a total waste of my time," he whined, though for him it would be more aptly described as a growl. Lin rolled his eyes and pinched his shoulder where his hand still rested.

"Just ask her as yourself, no embellishments, no plan. Spontaneity is romantic in and of itself. Evie and I are married because honestly I expected nothing less from her," he offered as parting words, expecting his charge to escape as soon as minimal courtesy allowed.

Oliver nodded, absorbing the information as he did in any situation, turned on his heels, and left.

* * *

The ring sat in his pocket innocuously, a practical thing, but beautiful in its simplicity. A platinum band, a reasonable circular diamond in the middle, cradled on either side by little crystals of midnight-colored drusy quartz. He'd waited two weeks for the right moment. Had stalked it like a predator, and when it came, defenses lowered, ears un-pricked, he lunged with the upmost grace.

She really was beautiful.

"Mai," he called softly, half-wanting her close and half-hating to disturb her. She didn't read recreationally often, but when she did it was like watching the curtain rise over a play. He could almost track the plot in her shifting expression, could guess the climax by her furrowed brow and restless eyes. The thumbnail mangled between her teeth. She looked like a child, wide-eyed and innocent. Mainly, she looked utterly peaceful, and he loved her most when she was calm. If not quiet.

She looked up after lingering for a few moments in her fantasy world, but when she did her eyes were clear and focused on him, the little smile widening as if her reality were vastly more interesting. He hoped it was.

"Yes, Naru-chan?" The nickname was a constant, her imprint on who he was. She blinked curiously.

"Come here," he crooned lazily, half-lying against the arm of the couch with his arms spread wide in welcome, too lazy to gesture any further. Her smile turned brilliant as she clambered from the cushy chair and into his embrace, nuzzling his shirt and inhaling deeply. He smelled like tea, she told him constantly.

"Mai, I have a friend I want you to meet," he began smoothly, no nerves in his stomach and thus none in his voice. He'd somehow avoided the seemingly obligatory moment of self-doubt and apprehension most other men went through. Not that he was complaining.

"Who?" Right to the point. She didn't realize it, but she could be just as blunt as him. Oliver smiled softly at her impatience, spinning the ring on his finger but distracting her with his face. Being handsome made prestidigitation vastly less complicated.

"Let's call him Gem," he said vaguely, hiding the ring in his palm. Mai had grown accustomed to his tricks over the years, and she wouldn't be so easily distracted. Her eyes flickered to his hand. Albeit, the wrong one.

"Alright. Can I see him?" She definitely had yet to master the art of patience.

"In a minute," he consoled with a kiss to her hair, "First, you have to guess which hand he's in."

Her eyes narrowed, but she smiled at the challenge, turning in his arms to sit halfway in his lap. She wiggled a little more than necessary, and perhaps if he were a weaker man he'd let it distract him. It was part of her game, one he was disinclined to play tonight. In any case, he had something to attend to first.

She looked back and forth between the hands, noting the shape, the depth of the clenched knuckles, trying to ascertain if one was more raised than the other, before she pointed to his left. "That one."

"Wrong." He offered nothing more, didn't open his hand to reveal the contents. Mai waited though, expecting to meet Gem if the only other option of hiding had been removed as a factor. When he showed no signs of budging, she pried his fingers open herself.

His palm was empty. "Naru! Where is he?"

He shrugged and smiled theatrically, then looked at his palms as if confused. "Now that's strange. I could have sworn he'd be there. Maybe you should call his name."

Mai knew his game well. But that didn't stop her from pouting.

"Gem? Where are you?" He could see she felt only slightly ridiculous, so concerned was she with finding Gem. She hadn't even bothered to blush.

"_I'm here!"_ the seemingly disembodied voice called, a little muffled as if by the fabric of his shirt's pocket. Her eyes immediately locked onto the innocent pouch over his left pectoral.

"How'd you get in there?" he asked as he dug around in the pocket, the contents carefully hidden by his palm. A coin. The ring was long gone. He nudged the coin up higher between his thumb and forefinger. "You're not Gem."

"Just a measly 500 yen," Mai said sweetly, almost practiced, like she'd said it before. And she had. His smile turned intimate, softer and almost unnoticeable save for the warmth in his eyes and the lack of tension around his lips. She remembered.

"Do you know where Gem is?" he asked kindly, still watching the memory flicker across Mai's face. It was almost enough to make him drop his little act. Almost.

"_Yes."_ He knew Mai was stalking his lips, waiting for the barest hint that he was the one speaking, even though she knew he was, but Oliver was good at what he did. The untrained eye was meant to miss it.

"Will you tell me?"

"_Maybe."_

She looked a little put out, because she either didn't catch his lips moving or she wasn't sure what was happening. Probably a combination of both. She shifted impatiently on his thighs.

"_For a kiss,"_ the coin said almost cheekily, and this time Mai did blush. He looked at her expectantly, adding a dash of apology to make it more theatrical, and she played along. Leaning forward, she let her puckered lips brush his fingers before pressing a gentle kiss half-way onto the coin and half on his hand.

She looked far too satisfied with herself, he decided when she sat up, all smiles and too-innocent eyes. She asked too sweetly, "Will you tell us where Gem is now?"

"_Hai." _He paused, some of the nerves he'd managed to evade buzzing tumultuously in his stomach. "_On Mai's finger."_

Oliver waited. First, for the confusion in her brow to melt into disbelief. Then, for her to search the wrong hand for some misplaced object. Finally, for her eyes to widen when she finally found it, the ring he'd slipped over her finger while she forced his hand open.

"How did you do that?" was her first question, but he ignored it, without even the excuse that a magician never reveals his secrets or some other such nonsense. It was a waste of breath to explain something she probably wouldn't understand even if he tried.

"What—?"

"I love you, Mai. I don't say it enough, but I do," he said simply, meaningfully, guiding her bejeweled hand to his lips before pressing her warm palm to his cheek. She smiled through her confusion, fingers contracting on his face unconsciously.

"Marry me?"

Mai looked from his eyes to his lips, then to her hand, then to his hand, as if tracking every piece of the puzzle until it clicked in her mind. Skepticism, possibility, hope, belief, trust, then joy. Her eyes flickered from one emotion to the next, an evolution, a flower blooming, before she settled for excitement. Pure, childish, unrestrained excitement.

"Yes! Of course, yes!"

The force of her arms around his neck and her body flung carelessly towards him sent him crashing back into the cushions. Her lips missed his but seemed content to kiss everywhere else before he guided her to him, slowed her down. Relief bubbled in his stomach now, fluttering in some strange, giddy concoction with joy, love, excitement, and emotional exhaustion. He wasn't used to living in the realm of the irrational for any extended period of time, so he kissed away his uncertainty, tasted her carefully and deliberately, fingers twining in her hair or thumbing over the ring on her finger. His ring.

Hours later, while basking in the afterglow of lovemaking, he pulled her close to him, tapping haphazard rhythms along her spine to feel the nerves in his fingertips prick, and listened to the soft rush of air from between her lips contentedly. She always fell asleep first. But he wasn't complaining. He relished in the moments of stillness, teetering between sleep and wakefulness, her pliant warmth keeping him anchored.

"Mm, Naru," she sang on an exhale, a plaintive little strain that had his heart beating insistently. As she nuzzled the skin of his chest sleepily, he kissed the top of her head, wondering when it became so natural to love her, or to be loved.

"Mai." When sleep came, it met him with her name on his lips.

* * *

Aw, Naru, you're so cute! I actually meant for it to be much more serious and brooding, but he ran away with the magic thing. Hope you enjoyed it!

If you're interested in the multi-chapter story, it probably won't be up for a while. I have a tendency to lose interest in what I write, so I prefer to have it finished before I post. That way you're not left hanging.


	2. Sans Magic

Alright, I told myself the first part was it, but...alas here we are.

There might be (probably will be, actually) another installment later. For those of you reading Nature Boy, the second chapter's on its way. This is the reason why I haven't updated.

**Warnings: **same warnings apply

Spoilers (duh): might be confused if you haven't read the manga.

Disclaimer: you know the drill

Quick note: For those of you who read Nature Boy, the second chapter will be out soon. Blame this one for the delay. Also, this takes place in England, as did the last chapter, so assume they're speaking English. (Mai and Naru speak Japanese when they're alone together) Let me know if you find major mistakes. I didn't want to take too much time away from my other story with editing.

* * *

Sometimes, Evie gave Mai a run for her money when it came to falling asleep in odd places, Lin thought as he carefully prodded his very pregnant wife into his arms. Normally he'd just leave her, but he didn't think sleeping on the stairs was safe for the baby.

As he finished the journey up the stairs she'd failed to complete, his mind turned over his impending fatherhood. He wasn't sure he was used to the idea yet, that an infant, one he'd helped to create, was currently floating somewhere beneath the bulbous orb that was once her abdomen. It had been approximately seven months, plenty of time for Evie to get over her initial distaste (she'd referred to the fetus as 'her little parasite' for about two months before the title turned affectionate), and certainly enough time for Lin to rationalize and accept his new role as father.

He gently set her down on their carefully made bed (his doing, she was content to leave the blankets in a tangled mess), but kept close to her, staring at her stomach as he was wont to do the past few months.

He just couldn't picture it. He couldn't imagine a little boy or a little girl calling him Baba, with Evie's black eyes or his smoky grey or Evie's curls or his chin. What's worse, the idea of it legitimately frightened him. Which was utterly ridiculous. He had too much self-control to be this terrified of a four-pound, underdeveloped humanoid.

"Koujo, is that you?" she moaned in her failing sleep, hand flailing clumsily and smacking his chin weakly. He smiled to himself and captured her hand, setting it on top of her stomach where it would land of its own accord eventually. "How did I get here?"

"I carried you. Explain to me please how you managed to fall asleep on the stairs."

She didn't answer, brow furrowed in concentration. Watching her try to sit up had become somewhat of a game to Lin. If he was feeling charitable, which typically he was, he'd help her. Some days, though, he was content to watch her struggle. She resembled quite adeptly a turtle flipped on his back. Or a Weeble-Wobble.

Finally she gave up. "Help?"

Lin smiled and guided her to her feet, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead in lieu of an apology. She took it happily.

"What time is it?" she inquired, stretching so her stomach seemed all the more prominent on her comparatively small body. That frightened him too. His wife seemed so little sometimes.

"Almost six."

"Damn it, we're supposed to meet them at seven, right?" she muttered more to herself, waddling almost gracefully towards the bathroom. There was silence on the other side of the door as she presumable undressed, then the rush of the shower sputtering to life. Lin leaned against the door.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have taken a nap," he couldn't resist, thinking over which tie he should wear or if he should even wear one at all. The restaurant was of finer quality. Not quite black tie, but a suit jacket at least.

Evie let out a squeak of frustration, and he imagined her struggling with the shampoo cap. "I was taking a break. I would've made it eventually."

He shook his head, chucking. Only Evie. "Well then, hurry up. Noll will eat our first born if we're late."

"At least he won't have to wait long. And don't rush a pregnant woman."

Noll had called the night before, inviting Evie and himself to dinner with little explanation as to _why_. Not that he needed much of an explanation. Lin had answered cordially, professionally, for all that he'd been smirking and biting back laughter the whole time. If Noll thought breaking the news to Evie in a public space would dampen her reaction, he was sorely mistaken.

* * *

Mai was going to die, either from excitement or nerves, she'd yet to decide.

"Is spontaneous combustion actually proven, or do I have to wait for someone with a match to put me out of my misery?" she asked herself, as her boyfriend, no, _fiancé,_ was too busy folding his napkin on his lap calmly.

For the fifteenth time. Damn perfectionist narcissist.

"Calm down, Mai. It's not as if you haven't met my parents before," he pacified unemotionally, folding his knuckles beneath his chin and actually bothering to look at her.

She laughed without humor. "It's not them I'm worried about. I can't believe you invited Evie _and _Madoka. We're going to get kicked out of here."

Naru smiled genuinely, though fleetingly, and took her hand in his, his thumb soothing over her knuckles when she gripped him back a little too tightly. With his other hand beneath her chin, he sought her eyes before pressing a short kiss to her lips. Mai let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Better?" he inquired, hands already back on his menu like they'd never been elsewhere. She smiled.

"Yes. You?"

He nodded, the corner of his lips twitching.

"Noll? Mai?" a sweetly familiar voice called over the clink of silverware and small talk. Mai's heart dropped to her stomach. Apparently she _was _nervous about seeing them. _Oh man, I thought I'd have a little more time. It's only six fifty. _Then again, she should've known. Luella and consequently Martin always showed up at least ten minutes early. Fashionably late did not exist in her soon-to-be mother-in-law's vocabulary. Mai was tempted to curse that fact.

Naru rose to greet his parents with a handshake and a hug respectively, a ritual she'd never understood but had grown accustomed to regardless. Luella regarded her warmly, taking in the deep green of her dress with a knowing look. Mai had bought the dress on an outing with Luella four years ago, after the older woman had nonchalantly mentioned it was Naru's preferred color.

"Come, dear, give us a hug," she demanded kindly, pulling the young woman into her arms before she'd prepared herself. Mai took the moment of embrace-induced silence to internally scream away her nerves. _I can't do this. I can't do this. They're going to hate me. _

_That's ridiculous, they love you,_ her conscious, which sounded a little too much like Gene for her liking, argued.

_Yeah, now they like me, when their only son can still find a way out, _she returned, then blushed ashamedly at the thought. She didn't _trap_ Naru. They loved each other, in every sense of the word. Convincing herself otherwise for the sake of nerves was cruel and childish.

By the time Madoka had arrived, Mai was feeling calm, at least calm enough to wrap the woman in a hug and bounce with her like they didn't see each other every day at work. She even rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her wild speculation as to why Naru called them all to dinner. (No, she wasn't pregnant. No, they didn't elope. No, they weren't moving to England permanently. And her favorite, because only Madoka would think of it, No, they weren't adopting John, who was not only _not _a child, but also two years older than Naru)

When Lin and Evie arrived, one carrying two jackets and a purse, the other waddling excitedly over to the table while completely ignoring the host's attempt to guide her, Mai was actually excited. These were the people she loved, considered her home away from home. She wasn't afraid of sharing something this important with them. Even if Evie's stomach was stealing the spotlight just a little.

"So, Naru-chan," Madoka began affectionately, and perhaps a bit mischievously, "care to explain why we dearly beloved are gathered here today?"

Naru rolled his eyes, but snuck a glance at her, one that said, _at least she made it halfway through dinner._ Mai giggled into her napkin.

"Yes, we were also wondering. Not that we don't enjoy these moments, but it's not like you to plan such an outing without…motivation," Martin added carefully, if not a little suspiciously, steepling his fingers much the same way as his son. Maybe her nerves were coming back, but she found the sight oddly touching.

Lin made a sound deep in his throat, something like smothered laughter, and judging by the way Naru's eyes shot immediately and unforgivingly to his former bodyguard, he already knew. The entirety of the dinner party turned to stare at the Chinese man incredulously. Mai could see the possibilities, some probably too ridiculous for mere mortals to comprehend, forming in Madoka's distinctly intuitive mind.

"If you'd give me your attention as well as your discretion," Naru shot two very pointed looks to Madoka and Evie specifically, "Mai and I have an announcement."

"Are you pregnant?" Evie accused. "Because I don't think the world can handle our children together. It needs time to recuperate."

Luella chuckled, only to let the sound die as her son turned his glare to her. Mai rolled her eyes. While it was a logical guess, she really wished people would stop asserting, however inadvertently, that she and Naru had a sex life in front of his _parents. _

"No, Mai is not pregnant as far as I know," he corrected with a strange mix of exasperation and sneering, "though given her recent eating habits, it's a possibility." He was going to pay for that one later, she decided.

Or now. He could pay for it now. She slapped his arm, heedless of the attention they were drawing from the next table. "I'm not pregnant, you smarmy bastard."

"Stop your flirting and tell us, Noll!" Luella interrupted, her pale blue eyes burning with curiosity. Mai blushed and restrained herself. It was so easy to fall into that pattern, she sometimes forgot about things like courtesy and _public places._

Naru took a moment to look at her, the smirk gone and replaced not by a smile, but by a notable contentedness. His eyes were soft when he turned to face his family and friends.

"Mother, Father, I've asked Mai to marry me." Mai braced herself for the explosion, but none came. They were too dumbstruck, mouths fallen open, disbelief warring with possibility. She thought she could see the image of flowers and white dresses and grandbabies floating in Luella's mind as a grin split her cheeks.

"Really?" Evie broke the silence tentatively, as if asking might disrupt some wonderful dream. Mai couldn't help but wonder how much they had invested in her and Naru's collective life, if they were this reticent to believe them. Mai held up her left hand, where his ring had sparkled, unnoticed by a table of investigators, on her ring finger.

"I said yes, if that's what you were worried about."

Five minutes later, they were being escorted off the premises for disturbing the peace, and Naru had verbally abused the entire staff. All things considered, it went well.

Now to tell her side of the family.

* * *

I'll leave the reaction to your imagination. It's probably much more hilarious than mine could conjure. :) The beginning scene was interesting to write. I love the idea of Lin quietly freaking out about being a dad.

About the setting: In my head, Naru and Mai would live primarily in Japan, where she is most comfortable and he feels the most freedom. However, I believe they'd spend the summer in England, during which Bou-san would take over SPR, and alternate Christmas with Luella and Martin and the Irregulars.

PS, how did I do with Madoka? I have trouble writing her...

Next one: Telling Bou-san, Ayako, Yasu, John, and Masako. Poor, poor Naru.


End file.
